The name of the city and county of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland is a subject of naming dispute between nationalists (mostly Catholic) and unionists (most of whom are Protestant), with nationalists calling it Derry, and unionists, Londonderry. Although many unionists will call it Derry in casual conversation, they generally insist on calling it Londonderry during political discourse, while nationalists usually call it Derry.
The most visible sign of this dispute to the visitor is in the road signage; those pointing to the town from the Republic refer to it as "Derry", whilst across the border it is written as "Londonderry". It is not uncommon to see vandalised road signs - the "London" part of the name spray painted over on "Londonderry" road signs by nationalists, or added to "Derry" signs by unionists.
History of the name
The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name, Doire ("oak grove"). When a new walled city was built by The Honourable The Irish Society across the River Foyle from the old site of the town, using donations from the livery companies of the City of London during the Plantation of Ulster by English and Scottish settlers, it was renamed and granted a Royal charter as the City of Londonderry.
Irish nationalists, however, do not accept the change of name, as Derry was the original name of the settlement. Ironically they (Nationalists) do not advocate Doire Cholm Cille (Saint Columbia's Orchard) as the truely original placename.
The local authority covers the walled city, urban areas on both banks of the Foyle, and rural areas extending to the southeast of the city. Nationalists account for the majority of the population, and this is reflected by the fact that Nationalist political parties dominate in elections. Local politicians officially changed its name from "Londonderry County Borough Council" to "Derry City Council" in 1984. The name of the city is still specified by its charter as Londonderry, and while the council has the power to apply to the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to change the city's name officially, it has not done so.
Meanwhile, the Westminster and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies, which currently have co-terminous boundaries with those of the city council, are called "Foyle", partly in order to avoid the naming controversy and also because the seat has in the past contained parts of County Tyrone. The BBC's regional radio station for the area is also named BBC Radio Foyle partly to avoid controversy.
Attempts at compromise
A suggested compromise wording of "Derry/Londonderry" (read "Derry stroke Londonderry") has given rise to the ironic local usage "Stroke City". Gerry Anderson, a local radio presenter who espoused this term, became known briefly as "Gerry/Londongerry". Another locally-used method of partly circumventing this name problem is to write "L'derry" or "L-Derry". One more way around this issue has been to refer to the city as "The Maiden City", a reference to the fact that the city was not breached during the siege of 1689. This usage is common in business, for example 'The Maiden City Flyer' is the Ulsterbus route from Derry/Londonderry to Belfast. The problem with this, however, is that due to its origin, "The Maiden City" is naturally seen as a term of pride for or by unionists and is hence disdained by nationalists. Another suggested compromise involved referring to the City as "Derry" and the County as "Londonderry"; however this idea has never really caught on.
Common practice in the Civil Service and in communication throughout business and other organisations within Northern Ireland is that, when responding to a letter from a correspondent from the city or county, is to reply using the same nomenclature as the initial communiqué. Therefore, a letter addressed Derry will be replied to an address in Derry, while a letter addressed from Londonderry will be returned to an address in Londonderry. The official BBC regulations for news broadcasts is that the city should be referred to as Londonderry during the initial reference, and Derry subsequently. Other broadcasters tend to follow suit.
In popular culture
The Divine Comedy song Sunrise utilises this dispute for political effect, beginning "I was born in Londonderry / I was born in Derry City too" (and a similar usage later for Enniskillen and the Irish language version, Inis Ceithleann).
The U2 song Sunday Bloody Sunday is considered to be in part inspired by the events of January 30, 1972 when British paratroopers killed 13 Irish citizens at a civil rights protest in the town of Derry.